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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28725975">water-wings</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/asynchrony/pseuds/asynchrony'>asynchrony</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic, Hiking, M/M, Multi, No Plot/Plotless, just a drabble bc i was Consumed, new zealand again, nothing but the best for our boys, twitter's fault again, unapologetic use of tramping instead of hiking bc it's in new zealand</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:48:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>962</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28725975</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/asynchrony/pseuds/asynchrony</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In one universe, for a moment, they exist in the crest and fall of a rally: set-spike-receive. </p><p>In another, Kita walks barefoot into the waves, and bids his lovers a very temporary goodbye.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kita Shinsuke/Sawamura Daichi, Kita Shinsuke/Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Kita Shinsuke/Sugawara Koushi, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Kita Ship Week 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>water-wings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>On the coast beyond a hut along the Abel Tasman, Kita secures the waterproof bags of cooking supplies, tethering the packs to Daichi's kayak. Suga's already in the water, paddling in circles and generally disrupting the quiet idyll of the day. The water is so clear Kita can see Suga's paddles slice through it from the shore, can see the pebbled sand on the bottom. The sky is blue. </p><p>"Are you sure you'll be fine tramping alone?" Daichi can't help but ask.</p><p>"I'm sure." A kiss to Daichi's forehead, pushing back the floppy brim of his too-small sunhat. "You'll have to let me go before the tide comes back in and I can't get back to the trail, you know."</p><p>He falters visibly. "I know. Look after yourself, yeah?"</p><p>"I always do. Look after <em>him</em>, won't you?"</p><p>Daichi follows Kita's fond gaze. Suga's paddling backward rapidly, out of the path of one of the smaller tourist boats that draws right up to the shore.</p><p>"I'll try."</p><p>Eight hours later, Kita peels off boots damp from wading through a stream, rinses them, and hangs his woolen socks up to dry. The hut's quiet tonight, a forecast rainy week in the off-season. When he heads inside, Daichi's emptying pasta into the billy-can on their little butane stove. The door creaks, and Daichi lights up upon seeing him.</p><p>"You made it!" </p><p>"Of course I did. Where's Koushi?"</p><p>Daichi sighs, warm and amused. "He discovered a freshwater pool nearby. It's just up the small path inland, you can probably catch him if you're quick."</p><p>"I do need a wash. Twenty minutes, then, and I'll drag him back?"</p><p>"Sounds good."</p><p>Kita strips down, shedding his undershirt and switching to boardshorts; stretches a little, feeling his partner's furtive gaze despite his back being turned. He bends to slip on sandals, and wiggles his butt just a little for Daichi's benefit. There's a groan from behind him, and he smiles. </p><p>"All right, get out, unless you want dinner to burn."</p><p>The walk to the pool is barely five minutes, at Kita's ever-efficient pace. It's framed with ferns, growing increasingly mossy as he approaches. He hears a whoop before the clearing comes into view.</p><p>"Shinsuke!" Suga calls, hurtling past. It takes Kita a moment to figure out what he's looking at: a channel where water's worn rock down, lined with the hardy local moss. It's a natural waterslide, terminating in a pool which must be at least three metres deep, and clear to the bottom. The water ripples as Suga tumbles in, then almost immediately returns to its placid, glassy stillness, even as Suga's silver hair billows under its surface.</p><p>He emerges with a breathless laugh. "It's still warm, Shin! Come on."</p><p>"Dinner will be ready in fifteen," Kita says, but he's already setting his sandals and towel down. At Suga's insistence, he clambers to the top of the rock formation, worn smooth by sea air and freshwater, settles into the channel, and lets himself fly.</p><p>He sluices his hair quickly as Suga climbs back for another go, indefatigable, then gets out of the way, leaning against a boulder in the shallows. The pool isn't big enough for him to avoid the unholy splash, but he doesn't mind.</p><p>"We should get going," he says when Suga emerges. "Did Daichi have a go?"</p><p>"He didn't get in, but he's seen it." Suga catches the towel he tosses over once he's done, drying his hair so quickly it becomes a fluffy mess. "I reckon we've got the time for a quick dip tomorrow morning before we do our final day, don't you think?"</p><p>"I think I'd like dinner," Kita says, but Suga sees his smile and returns it, glowing. </p><p>Weeks of slicing mushrooms and home-grown peppers and onions and tessellating them onto dehydrator racks alongside crumbled sausage and beef has paid off. The teenagers with the family group in the other half of the hut shoot them envious glances as Daichi ladles out bolognese for three, an impossibly hearty meal for the location. </p><p>"Thank you," Kita murmurs, mouth watering.</p><p>"You did all the prep, weeks ago," Daichi says. "I just put it together."</p><p>"It's really good, either way, so props to both of you." Suga's already halfway through his first bowl. </p><p>Soon, he returns for seconds; Daichi and Kita are done after one. There's enough left that they dish out two more servings for the lanky boys and a smaller bowl for the preteen with them, which are devoured almost between blinks, then wash up before the sun is fully down.</p><p>It's a cozy night. Rain lashes down, swelling the river to the point where they've had to sit down with a nautical chart and recalculate their times for the next day, but it's a tropical front, and the heat comes through enough that Daichi's given up on using his sleeping bag. Kita, nestled into his, hears Daichi shift and grumble a thousandth time and chuckles.</p><p>"Laugh at me tomorrow when I'm sleep-deprived and get us lost," Daichi mutters. His voice is low, so he doesn't disrupt the whistle of Suga's gentle snore. </p><p>"I can take the kayak, you know. I know you've been wanting to walk at least part of it."</p><p>That gets Daichi to sit up, a dark shape backlit by moonlight. "I know you don't like the water as much as we do, Shinsuke."</p><p>"You just think I'm too weak to paddle that long. It'll be fun, and you can deal with the post-rain river crossings." </p><p>Daichi knows as well as he does that it's an offer made out of kindness, no matter how he spins it. "I appreciate it," he says, affection infused into his dry tone. "Bedtime. We'll work it out tomorrow."</p><p>"We always do," Kita agrees.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/emdashing/status/1349180842329788416">what is WRONG with me today</a> </p><p>this fic's two-minute graphic can be retweeted <a href="https://twitter.com/emdashing/status/1349207327488937986">at this link</a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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